Microsoft considering alternative Yahoo deal

Is Microhoo coming back from the dead, in a different form? Two weeks after withdrawing its Yahoo acquisition bid, Microsoft on Sunday cited the possibility of an alternative deal with the company. In a statement, Microsoft said it “is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition” of the full company.

Microsoft didn’t describe the new alternative, and it declined to comment beyond its statement. At the same time, Microsoft said it reserves the right to reconsider an acquisition, depending on how things work out.

No public comment yet from Yahoo. A person familiar with the situation said today that Microsoft is not in talks with Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor who has proposed to replace the Yahoo board in an attempt to revive Microsoft’s thwarted acquisition bid.